Canadian researchers have mixed feelings about the 2021 budget presented to the Canadian Parliament this week.
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By Brian Owens
The relatively modest investment in research presented in Canada’s new federal budget could make it difficult for the nation to recruit and retain scientific talent, Canadian science advocates fear.
The multi-year spending plan announced on April 19 includes $ 2.2 billion in mostly new funding for the life sciences, but much of the money goes to boosting biomedical applications and vaccine development. Many research groups were hoping for greater investment in basic research at a time when, just across the border, US President Joe Biden has proposed major increases for basic science.
The three main research councils in Canada will share $ 250 million in CA for a new joint biomedical research grant program, and another $ 250 million will be awarded to Canadian Health Research Institutes to fund clinical trials. Universities and research hospitals will receive $ 500 million for bioscience infrastructure, such as equipment and buildings. The government also intends to provide new funding for an existing funding program – known as the national strategy – on artificial intelligence, as well as to create two new national strategies for genomics and quantum science, each earning about $ 400 million. US. About $ 17 billion will go to efforts to develop low-carbon technologies, support green jobs and meet conservation goals, such as protecting 25% of Canada’s land and water by 2025.
Proponents of the research hailed the focus on science as a way to combat the pandemic and rebuild the economy afterwards. “The 2021 budget seeks to balance the pressing challenges of the pandemic with a long-term perspective on recovery and growth,” said the Ottawa-based Evidence for Democracy group. But the group also noted that the budget did not include significant increases for basic research conducted by investigators.
The budget continues the government’s investment in science, which began in its 2018 budget. (Canadian spending plans often cover several years.) But the focus remains on targeted, boutique funding, rather than broad support for research in general. for which Canadian scientists have long advocated. “Politicians like to choose investment targets because they want to invest in things that can deliver results quickly,” says Abraham Fuks, a researcher in immunology at McGill University in Montreal. “But the science that helps the most is longer-term,” he added, noting that Canadian scientists have made a significant contribution over the decades to the basic science behind current COVID-19 vaccines.
Prior to the budget launch, Fuks and colleagues called on the government to provide major increases for basic science to the country’s three main research councils to keep up with the United States in recruiting and retaining the next generation of scientists. This budget does not meet this demand, he says, although he welcomed funding for the bioscience infrastructure and, in particular, for clinical trials. “We do not see the major investment in basic science that we believe is necessary” to support research that may not bear fruit for years, he says.